Recording - April 2015 - 22

A songwriter's guide to success in the Big Room
By Halemanu

ongratulations! You've decided
you're ready to record with a professional music producer and a studio to match. This is a milestone for any
artist or band. Over the years, you've
done your own home recordings, archived
lyrics on your phone, gone to a friend's
house to record that screaming vocal track,
or laid down that funky groove at the small
studio down the block. Through it all,
hopefully, you've gained some recording
experience. Here are some tips on what
an artist can expect, what they can do to
prepare, and what should be expected
from the producer, in a professional
recording environment.
Be ready to connect
Remember the Boy Scout motto-"Be
Prepared." You should know the material
you are working on very well. Having your
lyrics memorized is a plus, too. If you need
to, have things charted out with a lead
sheet. This way, you are not just singing the
song as you read it... you can concentrate
on the emotional delivery of the song
instead. The great artists have always done
this; you can hear the difference. Listen to
the great Louis Armstrong's version of
"What a Wonderful World" or even check
out a YouTube clip of him doing it live. He's
emotionally invested when he sings this
song. That's what I'm talking about!
Whether singing or playing an instrument, a great artist not only tells the story
of a song, they connect with the listener
emotionally. Linking the melody to a story
helps you, the artist, emotionally connect
with the song.
I recommend that as you sing the song,
play the story in your head. Get that
motor running, head out on that highway,
feel that wind in your hair. Convince the

RECORDING April 2015

listener that you are taking that motorbike
for a spin and enjoying it! Make them
feel what you feel.
For some singers, closing their eyes
while singing helps them further connect
with the song. Performing the song without stopping may help you keep the continuity of the story intact as well.

The mechanics: pitch, time, and dynamics
As a producer, I want you to be able to
maintain pitch throughout the song. We may
fix a few pitch-related issues here and there
in post, but that's it. I want you to be able to
sing your song live or even a cappella, without any help from pitch correction. To be
honest, if you cannot do that, you may not
be ready for the studio yet. That's okay-it's
just something you have to work towards.
This is not to say that fixing and tuning
pitch is not a part of a modern engineer's
skill set-quite the opposite. If time is of
the essence, and it's easier to pitch-correct
a few parts, I'll go that way. If the producer or singer wants to re-sing certain

lines, then that's fine, too. There are no
hard and fast rules here, but being flexible
and adapting to situations is important.
My personal preference as a producer
is to go "old school" and develop the
artist enough to have wonderful pitch,
emotional connection with the song, and
put their uniqueness into said song. Ear
training with intervals or a guide track
can help you develop relative pitch. Your
producer should be able to get you to that
point and help you maintain it. A vocal
coach can be be very helpful for a singer
in this area, too. Aside from helping you
deal with pitch issues, they can show you
vowel modification and other singing
techniques that can make you a more
consistent singer. Be sure to make notes
that you take with you to the studio for
any tips a coach may have for you.
Interpreting timing and groove is another
thing that can make the performance stand
out. Listen to Al Green's vocal performance
of "Let's Stay Together" or Norah Jones'
"Don't Know Why" and you'll hear how
these singers lay behind the beat, letting the
music push it along at times. In contrast, in
the Mark Ronson song "Uptown Funk",
you'll find Bruno Mars right on those downbeats, as if marching precisely to the
tempo. Whether by design or by chance,
these elements work. Be aware that the
song tempo may dictate what you do here.
A producer can have you try the phrasing
in different ways and hear what's working
for you and the song.
Dynamics will add to the emotional
weight of your message. Give a listen to
Whitney Houston's version of "I Will
Always Love You". The first verse and
chorus are sung soft and tender, whispering at times. Then, as she gets into the
later choruses and outro, she is opening
up and really belting it out.
If you're an instrumentalist, you have to
be aware of these factors, too. Are you
bending that string in tune? Pressing too
hard when fingering chords? Playing too
rigidly or too laid back can have a profound effect on your melodies and solos.
Playing electric guitar through a responsive amp can help you do what a singer
can do with emotional and volume dynamics. Play light and soft and the amp stays
nice and clean. Dig into the notes by playing harder, and the amp responds with
beautiful tube saturation. Stevie Ray
Vaughan's live version of "Little Wing" from
the Live at the El Mocambo DVD has all of
these elements I mentioned and is emotionally dynamic. You can feel his passion.
When performing or recording, I use these
techniques quite often, and you should too!
Keep track
Keeping a log is a good idea for tracking and monitoring your preparation and
progress. A log can contain specific
goals like: memorize the song a week

Recording - April 2015

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